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“Anytime you look out at the crowd during a council meeting, she’s there,” Salem City Mayor Charles Washington Jr. said. “She has a great passion and love not just for her neighborhood, but for the whole city of Salem.”

Carter said that she decided to throw her hat into the ring for the open council seat because she thought she had something to offer her city.

“If I can bring anything to the council to improve conditions in the community, I’m going to give it a try,” she said.

Washington said that Carter was a great choice for the position because she is already informed on the current issues and concerns of the city, and because she is a “strong advocate for what’s right.”

City Council President Karen Tuthill echoed the mayor’s feelings and said that she was looking forward to working with Carter.

The seat Carter is taking over became available when Johnson — a longtime city councilman — decided to resign on Sept. 16, due to an out-of-state family obligation.

According to City Solicitor David Puma, a Democratic committee had to present its list of three candidates to city council within 15 days of Johnson’s resignation, and the city had 30 days to select a replacement.

Johnson won re-election in 2012 and was in the first year of a four-year term at the time of his resignation.

Puma said Carter will serve in her appointment seat until Nov. 4, 2014 (Election Day), and whoever wins that election would serve the remainder of Johnson’s term until it expires on Dec. 31, 2016. Carter can run if she chooses.

At her swearing in at the Salem Municipal Annex Tuesday afternoon, an emotional Carter said she was excited to get started.

While she doesn’t have any specific projects planned yet, she has some big goals for Salem.

“I’m interested in more employment and a better quality of life in the community,” she said.